One of the most rapidly rising industries is starting to attract investors. People have seen the growing trend of massive revenue numbers and are starting to realize how big of a deal e-sports really is.

E-sports (electronical sports) is professional video gaming in common language. Players compete against each other as one or as a team. People root for teams and players the same way you root for your favourite basketball or hockey clubs and even cheer for them in the live events. It can be said that the competitive envorinment was truly developed in South-Korea, where there have been professional gamers since the year 2000.

How to invest and why?

Lets start off saying that it already requires quite a hefty amount of money to get involved. Plus in the most famous games – where most of the money is, the scene is already dominated by big and famous teams or event organizers, which might show as an obstacle to fit in.

Event organizers have huge sponsorship deals with electronic companies such as Intel or ASUS and get to advertise their brand via livestreams to hundreds of millions of people. That is why events might not be an optimal option for a smaller company looking to get involved. Instead, they should look for a partnership with a growing organization and hope for the best.

The perks sponsoring a professional e-sports team do not really differ from a normal sports sponsorship deal. For example, a Swedish Counter-Strike team had a ten-part documentary made of themselves and it was shown on prime time in the national television. Teams like these already have a huge fan base, so sponsors are more than willing to invest on them to boost their own brand.

As you can see in the graph posted below, revenues are expected to top $1 billion during the year 2019. Keep in mind that e-sports is still a tiny industry in comparison, since traditional sports industry is expected to have a revenue of $73,5 billion in 2019. But where there is money, there is room for investors!